Dumbarton manager Stevie Aitken has paid tribute to the late Gilbert Lawrie, the chief executive of the club who died suddenly on Thursday.

Aitken admits that the sad news has been a huge blow to everyone connected with the club, and he hopes that they can honour his memory in the best possible way by trying their best to get a result against Raith Rovers today.

“It gave us all a huge shock and it’s hit the club hard,” Aitken said.

“He was a well-known figure about the town and he’s been about the club for years. He was a gentleman, a lovely big guy and it’s desperately sad news.

“It just shows you how thing can change. Things were going so well and then we get hit by news like that, so the thoughts of myself, the players and everyone at the club are with Gilbert’s family and friends at this desperately sad time.

“We’re all in shock. There was talk of the game being called off, but the chairman met the rest of the board last night and discussed it, and one of the considerations was that Gilbert would have wanted to see his team playing.

“He loved his club and if you could have asked him, I’m sure he would have wanted the game to go ahead and the players will be ready for it.

“He was really well-liked about the place. I spoke to the players last night and we trained, and we’re all still a wee bit numb because no one saw it coming.

“We will think of him prior to the game tomorrow, and then we’ll go and give it our best shot to try and get the victory for him.”

The good news earlier in the week surrounding the contract extensions of Stevie Saunders and Darren Barr has paled into insignificance somewhat, but Aitken says it is dedicated club servants like the late chief executive that make these sort of deals possible.

He said: “These are quality players that were attracting interest, but what we try to do at Dumbarton is create a good atmosphere.

“They’ve met people like Gilbert and the rest of the board who are all good people, and I think that helps us to get these sort of players to sign again.”